


Ballet Girl

by halcyyonn



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Ballet AU, F/M, Fluff, Liladrien, no miraculous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:54:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23960383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halcyyonn/pseuds/halcyyonn
Summary: Lila Rossi is overjoyed when she receives an invitation to audition with the Agreste Ballet Company, she heads straight to the studio to practise. When she arrives, there's already someone there. Adrien Agreste, the pianist for the company and the person Lila had a crush on.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Lila Rossi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Ballet Girl

The letter arrived smelling of expensive perfume and empty theatres. It was familiar and new at the same time, reminding Lila of all the hours she had spent alone in rehearsals, trying desperately to improve. But now, all those hours of work had paid off. 

In her hands was a letter from the Agreste Ballet Company. She had been noticed by Gabriel Agreste himself, something she had aspired to her entire life. In the ballet world being noticed by Gabriel Agreste could make your career, if he saw potential. Being cast in any of his ballets could launch a career and many of the ballerinas Lila looked up to as a child has started at the Agreste Ballet Company. 

Lila tore the envelope open, careful not to damage the delicate letter inside. It was her ticket to something bigger, the fast track to achieving every one of her goals years sooner than she could have hoped. If she got through the auditions. 

Agreste Ballet Company auditions were notoriously hard, near impossible. They were hours long and were designed to separate the best dancers from the worst. Gabriel Agreste himself was ruthless, wanting on the best dancers in his ballets. He had a reputation for launching, stalling and even destroying careers, for good reason. 

If you were accepted into any of his productions, your career was set. If you didn’t make the cut, you were never offered another chance. The letter sitting in Lila’s hand was her only chance to get into an Agreste Production. One mistake and she would never get another. Ever.

Similarly, if someone did something so wrong Gabriel Agreste decided you didn’t belong in the ballet world, you wouldn’t have a place anymore. No other company would hire you. There was no place in the most elite ranks of dancing if you had offended Gabriel Agreste.

Lila slipped the letter back into the envelope and placed it onto the side table. She needed to ramp up her rehearsals if she wanted a chance to get into the company. There was no way to guarantee her place, but there were things she could do to tip the odds in her favour.

Grabbing her bag and jogging out the door, Lila put her earphones in and searched for the music from the last production. Lila remembered watching the snippets of it online, wishing she could be on stage with the dancers. She could name every single one of them, from the lead dancer Marinette Dupain-Cheng to all of the background dancers. Even the pianist, Adrien Agreste, was familiar to her. Lila knew his songs and could recognise them by the first few notes, no matter where she was. 

The first time she heard him play, she was entranced instantly. From that day on, she dreamed of dancing to a song written just for her, moving across the stage to notes Adrien had written for her. Now, that dream was closer than ever. 

When Lila arrived at the dance studio, it was almost completely empty. A single window was open on the second floor and the rest had their blinds drawn. Good. That would give Lila the time and privacy she needed to rehearse properly. Hopefully, her favourite studio towards the back of the building would be free.

Lila walked through the halls, looking for anyone else in the building. She didn’t run into anyone, and made it to her favourite studio in no time. One of the doors sat slightly open, and the lights were on inside. When Lila turned off her music, she could hear the piano inside being played. 

The piano itself was one of the reasons she liked this particular studio so much. When she danced, she could imagine Adrien Agreste sitting at that piano. She would rehearse for the latest Agreste production, and they would spend time together, alone, outside of a rehearsal.

Peering through the door, Lila caught sight of a person with blond hair, sitting in front of the piano. They moved with the notes they played, leaning as their hands wandered across the keys. It was amazing. Out of impulse, Lila moved forward, pushing the door slightly. She wanted to be closer to the music, closer to the person playing it.

As she pushed the door open, it creaked slightly. The person sitting at the piano stopped playing and turned. Lila’s eyes snapped open wide and she tried to slip back out the door, but it was too late.

“I’m sorry, is this studio taken already? It was the only one I could find with a piano.” He stood up from the piano and walked over to Lila. “I’m Adrien Agreste. I realised I didn’t introduce myself.”

Lila’s mind went blank. All the times she had imagined meeting Adrien Agreste were completely different to this. She always thought she could wow him with her ballet skills at an audition, but here she was, meeting him by random chance. “I’m Lila Rossi, and this studio isn’t taken. I just came here to rehearse some more before an audition I have soon.”

“Are you auditioning for anything I would know?” Adrien returned to the piano seat, sitting away from the piano so he could speak to Lila.

Placing her bag on a chair, Lila stretched her arms over her head. “I received a letter from your father’s company inviting me to the next auditions.”

“Congratulations, I know those are rare. You must be talented.” As he sat, Adrien began to play an invisible piano in front of him. He seemed to be focused almost completely on what he was doing, but also managed to listen to Lila at the same time. 

Nodding, Lila pulled her pointe shoes from her bag and prepared to put them on. Many of the Agreste productions required pointe shoes, something she had learned from hours and hours of watching everything she could. “I hope so, otherwise I won’t get anther audition.”

Adrien stopped playing the song and moved to tapping his foot against the floor lightly. “Would you like me to play you something so you can rehearse?” 

“Aren’t you worried that your father will be mad at you for giving out unfair advantages?” 

“There isn’t much he can do. If he fired me he would have to either find someone else who can play the songs as well as I can, or play them himself. He’s trapped himself.” Adrien laughed, but there was a flicker of sadness that crossed his face afterwards. “I’ve known him long enough to know that he’ll probably say I’m dangerously close to being a ‘disgrace’ to the family. No big deal.”

“I don’t want to put you in that situation.”

“I’ll put myself in that situation, then. Do you have a favourite song from one of my father’s productions?”

She did have a favourite song, from a few years ago. It was from the first production Marinette Dupain-Cheng had starred in, and it was about superheroes protecting the city. The story ended in tragedy, with the heroes losing to Hawk Moth and his army of akumas, but the music was amazing. “Can you play Miraculous?”

“Of course.” Adrien turned and prepared to play. “Tell me when you want me to start playing.”

“Wait a moment.” Lila left her shoes on the chair near her bag and walked over to the piano. “I have to do something to pay you back.”

“You really don’t have to do that. I haven’t played this song in a long time, I need the practise.” 

“After you’ve finished this song, you should come and dance with me. If you play this song for me, I’ll teach you how to dance.”

“That might not be the best idea. I’m not the dancing one in my family.”

Lila knew who he was talking about. His cousin, Félix Graham de Vanily, starred in many of Gabriel’s productions, and there were even rumours he was dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng herself. “I’m sure I can teach you, or at least try.”

Adrien looked up at Lila. This was the first time someone had offered to teach him to dance since his father pulled him out of ballet classes as a child. Adrien had wanted to be a ballerina like his mother, but apparently he hadn’t been living up to Gabriel’s expectations. He was soon moved to piano classes instead. Despite Emilie trying to convince Gabriel otherwise, Adrien remained playing the piano while his cousin danced. 

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but the offer is always there.” Turning and walking back to her shoes, Lila immediately began to regret what she said. Had she made Adrien uncomfortable? That was the last thing she wanted to do, especially since he could just tell his father about this and ruin her chances at her audition. Sighing, Lila turned around. “I’m sorry if I-.”

She was interrupted by Adrien. “I’d love for you to teach me to dance. Just don’t expect too much from me.”

Grinning, Lila returned to her shoes. She put them on quickly and laced them up before starting her stretches. When she was finished, she stood in the centre of the room. ”You can begin playing whenever you’re ready.”

A few minutes later, the song ended and Lila finished dancing. When she looked back over to Adrien, he was smiling.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You really are an amazing dancer. You’ll ace the audition, and you’d be perfect for one of the lead roles.” Adrien stretched his fingers out as he spoke.

“Do you already know the roles? Should you even be telling me this?”

“It should be a secret, but I won’t tell if you don’t.” Adrien's smile made Lila want to agree to anything he suggested. “And yes, I know the roles and the music is already composed. The ballet is called ‘The Fox and The Ladybug’. I think the role of the fox was written for you.”

Lila laughed, beginning to blush. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Adrien stood up and walked over to Lila. “I’m glad. Now, were you going to teach me how to dance?”

“Yes, I think I was.”


End file.
